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$50,000 Winning Ticket Sold In Algona

George Cunningham Wins Top Prize of $50,000
Playing "Sizzling 7's" Scratch Game

Hear George tell his story.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A Missouri man won a top prize
of $50,000 playing the lottery's "Sizzling 7's"
instant-scratch game with a ticket he purchased in
Algona.

George Cunningham, 41 of Urbana, Mo., was working at
the Hormel Plant in Algona when he went on a break
with his coworkers.

"One of the guys bought a ticket and I came back and
bought the one behind him," said Cunningham. "Just
being a silly guy," he added, "And it won $50,000!"

Cunningham said his coworker now wishes he would
have bought the next ticket.

"(He's) glad at least one of us got it," said
Cunningham.

He scratched the ticket while in the truck with his
coworkers, but they still had a hard time believing
he had won.

"I won a good one," he said to his coworkers. "The
guys were like, 'What did you really win?'"

"I said, 'Fifty thousand!'" exclaimed Cunningham.

He let his friends and family know as soon as he
could that he had won, but they also had a hard time
accepting that fact.

"They were, 'No you didn't, what did you win?'" said
Cunningham. "I had to keep telling them."

He is planning on getting a new boat with some of
his winnings.

Cunningham purchased his winning ticket at Casey's,
1414 N. Main St. in Algona. He claimed his prize
Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in
Mason City.

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Prizes and Proceeds

Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $3.2 billion in prizes while the lottery
has raised more than $1.5 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety
of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was
implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.

Player Info

The Iowa Lottery makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the winning numbers, prize payouts and other information
posted on the Iowa Lottery website. The official winning numbers are those selected in the respective drawings and recorded
under the observation of an independent accounting firm. In the event of a discrepancy, the official drawing results shall
prevail. All names, logos and information contained within these pages are meant for personal use only and may not be
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